Presidents Converge on MHSAA Office

January 29, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Coaches serving over three seasons and in a variety of different sports can have a variety of perspectives when it comes to most topics, including MHSAA rules.

The Coaches Association Presidents Meeting, an annual event hosted Monday at the MHSAA office in East Lansing, allows an opportunity to gather that valuable input as our staff works through pressing issues at the start of each new year.

Presidents from high school coaches associations representing nearly all of our MHSAA-sponsored sports met in East Lansing for an inside look at some of our latest efforts and how that work could affect their sports and the coaches they serve. 

On the menu this time was an update on the MHSAA's drive to increase coaches health and safety training, followed by updates on recent research into how the association might better serve junior high and middle schools. 

The entrée was discussion on out-of-season coaching rules, and how or if they should be altered to allow high school coaches more contact with athletes during offseasons than currently allowed. 

This meeting allows for input on these topics, with the key, again, that the input comes from various sources who face differing circumstances but are all tied together under the umbrella of interscholastic athletics. Input from our coaches associations will be valuable as MHSAA staff and its Representative Council consider potential rules changes over the rest of this school year, and beyond. 

To Ford Field, and Home Again

August 31, 2012

The last time Lansing Catholic and Pewamo-Westphalia's football teams had suited up, it was under the bright lights of Ford Field for last season's MHSAA Finals.

The reigning Division 5 and 7 runners-up, respectively, returned to the field Aug. 24 in a season opener at Holt Junior High, in what was another first-time experience for leaders on both sidelines.

It was the first time in a coaching career spanning four decades that Cougars coach Jim Ahern started anew after making it to the previous season's final game. Despite numerous near-misses while coaching at Ithaca, last season was his first trip to the title game.

Pewamo-Westphalia's Brad Weber has been leading the Pirates for only five seasons, but his school and community also had never made it to a season finale before last November.

Click to see what each had to say after Lansing Catholic opened with a 45-21 win.